Get me on the Ladder!

Leading First Time Buyer Portal, Share to Buy, Gives their Tips for First Time Buyers

Buying your first home is one of the biggest (and best) decisions of your life! However, the whole process can seem fairly confusing and stressful – with so much conflicting information out there, it’s difficult to know who or what to trust.

To help clear up some of that confusion, we spoke to Jade Turnstill, Digital Marketing & Communications Manager for leading property portal Share to Buy, who shares her advice on how to get onto the housing ladder.

If you could give one piece of advice to first time buyers, what would it be?

First and foremost – budding buyers should research, research, research. There are several options out there for first time buyers, for example Help to Buy and Shared Ownership. It’s vital to make sure that you pick the option that is right for you.

Help to Buy is a government backed scheme, which gives buyers who want to purchase a new build home an equity loan of up to 40% of the value of the property they are buying if in the capital. Outside of London, this equity loan is up to 20%. Help to Buy Equity Loans make getting on the housing ladder more accessible for first time buyers by reducing the amount required for a deposit.

Shared Ownership is an alternative homeownership scheme which gives first time buyers the opportunity to purchase a share in a new build or resale property. Shared Ownership allows buyers to purchase a share of a home – usually between 25% and 75%. Purchasers will pay a mortgage on the share that they own, and a below-market-level rent on the remainder to a housing association. As the purchaser only needs a mortgage for the share they own, the amount of money required for a deposit is often much lower compared to purchasing a property on the open market.

What are people’s options once they’ve purchased their first home?

If you are considering Shared Ownership, the process doesn’t end when you buy your first share. Shared ownership buyers also have the option to increase their share during their time in the property via a process known as ‘staircasing’; in most cases, purchasers can staircase all the way to 100%, eventually owning the home outright.

So, once you’ve bought that first share of your home, keep saving those pennies and you could eventually buy more of the property in easy, manageable chunks.

And finally, are you excited to be supporting the First Time Buyer Home Show this year?

We can’t wait! Getting out and meeting hopeful buyers is a great way to spread the word about alternative home ownership schemes. We love being able to speak with first time buyers face to face and answer as many questions as we can!

As well as exhibiting at the First Time Buyer Home Show, we’ll also be hosting the London Home Show at the QEII Centre in Westminster on March 23rd – where we will have over 50 exhibitors – including First Time Buyer Magazine!

Share to Buy is currently shortlisted for ‘Best Supplier to the First Time Buyer Market’ in the First Time Buyer Awards 2019. Budding buyers can speak to the Share to Buy team and get their homeownership questions answered on Saturday 2nd March at the First Time Buyer Show in the Old Town Hall in Stratford.